Post navigation

England v South Africa: 36 (bottles) – nil (pounds)

Whatever the score in the Rugby World Cup tomorrow, it’s a result for me, thanks to Fuller’s.

The Chiswick brewer created a poster based on its “Wallaby” ad for London Pride at the time of the 2003 World Cup, this time featuring a picture of a Springbok and the words “frequently found stuffed”. Rather than pay for a campaign featuring the ad, however, Fuller’s decided to use the “viral” method and send an email out to 13,000 people with the poster as an attachment.

The nice PR person at Fuller’s, whom I’ve known for years, sent me and about 20 other journalists a copy, and as I was working for the City section of the Daily Telegraph yesterday, where the deputy news editor is ex-South African Army, I forwarded it to a few reporters there I knew would be amused (it’s a rugby sort of place …).

As it happened, even the ex-South African news editor loved it, and they decided to run the poster as one of the illustrations to a news story about how much money was being spent in England around the World Cup, from train tickets to Paris to extra beer supplies for tomorrow night.

Fuller’s, naturally, loved this free advertising, and me, and when I got home last night there was an email from Georgina the PR saying three cases of this year’s Vintage Ale would be on their way to me in thanks. So – what a score. Sadly, they won’t be here in time for the match, and I feel I ought to share at least one case with the lads from the Torygraph. And I supose it’s really bribery. But I didn’t know the chaps were going to run the poster in the paper when I sent it to them . . .